Chapter 40 Summary

Everyone at school is talking about the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. H tells his friends that the Americans presented Japan with the Potsdam Declaration demanding Japan's surrender ten days before the attack. Since Japan did not respond, the U.S. bombed Hiroshima. To keep an eye on the situation, H buys a newspaper every day. Even though he knows he cannot believe everything he reads, it is his only source of information.

One of the newspapers H reads carries news about the Soviet Union declaring war on Japan. The article tells that the Soviet Union has crossed the border into Manchuria and is fighting both Japanese and Manchurian forces. Up to this time, the Soviet Union has been neutral where Japan is concerned. However, the U.S. attack on Hiroshima changes everything, and the Soviets declare war on Japan.